We’ve had a fantastic time talking about families during these few weeks. In fact, the response has been so encouraging that we decided to make a change:

We are adding two more weekends to this series!

God’s Word has so much more for us in this critical area of marriage and family, and we don’t want to miss any opportunity to see more families strengthened and renewed.

Now, the original plan was to conclude the series this weekend with a time of renewal. Instead, here is what we will do:

• This weekend, Josh will talk about singles: unmarried, divorced, and widowed.
• Next weekend, I will explore marriage and grace in greater depth.
• The weekend after, on February 9-10, we will wrap up with the renewal service.

Starting mid-February, we’ll be looking at the God of more than enough: learning how to trust him for our joy and supply, and how to share it alike.

I’m excited about the testimonies we’ve already seen, and I look forward to hearing about yours! I won’t see you this weekend… but I will be praying.

I love how organic a real walk with God is. As I talk to him, I experience the realness, the closeness of his presence in every circumstance. It’s not just when I need wisdom to face a situation or when I am struggling with an issue… and it’s not just when life is smooth and ripple-free, either — his presence is with me all the time. Let me give you an example.

I had an important and difficult decision to make earlier this week. At that point I had been seeking the Lord’s wisdom for months, so after thinking through all the aspects of the situation, I made what I thought was a good decision. That same day, I came back from my usual prayer walk with Annie (the four legged “other woman” in my life) and settled in my basement chair. As I began reading, God told me very clearly: “Wrong choice, Boyd.” Wow! See, he knew that I only wanted his plan in this, so when I went the wrong way, he put up a stop sign. I thought of two people to call for guidance and both confirmed God’s words to me that morning. I love this life!

God is just as eager, and just as close, for your walk and its tough decisions. Take the time, you just can’t beat his counsel.

See you this weekend.

I am still stuck in the Sermon on the Mount — I had suggested reading it for a month… but that was over a month ago! Now, as I’ve studied it, I’ve been struck by the rush of critical principles in this sermon:

• Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own?
• Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened.
• Small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life… and only a few find it.
• Every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.
• Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who builds his house on the rock.

As I study these chapters, I find myself reading a little and then praying a great deal. And I think that is exactly what the last bullet point above means. Hearing is just the first step: putting what we learn into practice is the key to bearing fruit, staying on the narrow road, asking and receiving, and finding planks rather than the specks. Certainly food for thought.

Hey, we were exploding last week at the 11am service; we even had to set up chairs in the café! We’re very excited to see God work through all the weekend services. If you are able to do so, you may want to join us at 9:30am, or during the 6pm service on Saturday — they are all the same.

Also, I’d love to see you at the Discovery Pathway this Monday, January 14. We’ll have dinner together before the next class in your pathway. See you there!